We have needed the services of the only ER in this rural Colorado county twice since we moved here almost one year ago.
The first was within a week of arriving here. Mike developed a nasty reaction, with extreme gut pain, nausea, etc. The doctor who assisted us that time was kind and seemed to want to be helpful, but could not figure out what to do.
Then this past Thursday morning, Mike was writhing in extreme pain from a recently diagnosed neck vertabra injury. Apparently he had turned his head the wrong way in his sleep even with a neck brace on. Even though he was on a very strong opioid for pain, it was still completely out of control.
The young doctor who came in to “help” us had the worst bedside manner I have ever witnessed. He seemed to immediately jump to the conclusion that we were drug shopping, and said he could not prescribe anything.
Come to find out, all Mike needed was a strong dose of anti-inflammatory (Aleve) and a muscle relaxant to go with his other pills. So that stupid young doctor pissed us off for no reason at all!
I for one did not know that you can take Aleve along with opioids. If I had we could have saved hundreds of dollars and all the shaming that doctor had to offer us!
Ever since Mike and I “discovered” this rural section of southern Coloradoin 2013, we’ve been wondering why others aren’t moving here. Come to find out, they are! The realtors in the La Veta area and here in Walsenburg are having record months lately. And why not? The beauty of this place in spring is astounding!
I asked Susie here at Acorn Realty about the local market when I saw that we had 12 home sales in the small town of Walsenburg in April, selling for everywhere from $20,000 to $200,000. She’s excited to see so much interest in our area, and attributes her improving sales figures to the baby boomers, who know a great deal when they see one!
Also, as the county has begun to allow more marijuana grow operations, business has certainly picked up. In fact, we should have quite a few more jobs here in the next few years, and they should pay well.
At present this county is such a mix of welfare cases and hard-working families, rundown and well-kept homes. But the homes west of Walsenburg have fantastic mountain views, and with land and home prices so reasonable at present, I cannot imagine that it won’t grow quickly.
When asked about the best thing that happened to me this past week, I could only answer my introduction into a whole new world in the northern part of my new county.
Since moving to Huerfano County in southern Colorado last June, I have heard various references to the Libre Community, established here in the late 1960s as an alternative to traditional American life. Some call it a hippie commune, but Libre is a community of families or individuals who have been invited to build their own homes. These structures as well as the land they are built can never be sold. Which is why Libre has endured since 1968 while the communes of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are long gone. New members were required to build their own homes and then homes were traded between members as needed.
Luckily I connected with one of the elder members of this community at a local function. Sibylla invited Mike and me up to see and learn more about the history of Libre. So last Saturday we took a drive up to see these rural dome homes built in the shadow of the Wet Mountains.
Sibylla now lives in what she calls her “hobbit house” which I found quite an apt description. Most of these dome homes started small and were added on to through the years. Sybylla is a transplant from Germany. She and her husband moved to Libre in the early 1970s and built a larger home for their family. Now she lives alone and so she has moved to the hobbit house.
We enjoyed her hospitality, wonderful stories and a cup of tea on her back patio while looking at tremendous views of the distant mountains. She referred to her bird feeder as her television as they have no TV or Internet up there, and the phone gets hit by lightening sometimes! Sibylla is an artist like many who came to Libre.
After a few hours of fascinating conversation, Sibylla took us next door to meet her partner Dean Fleming, a founding member of the Libre Community. Dean lives in a larger dome house which he uses as his art studio. The views of the Wet Mountains were amazing from here.
What a fascinating afternoon full of warm friendship, interesting elders, and local history…
We’re newcomers to rural southern Colorado, so after a few years I decided to compile a diary about my life after moving here from Fort Collins. We chose the foothills west of Walsenburg to build a passive solar home. Please share this blog with your friends if they are considering similar life changes. Contact me directly to discuss any of these challenges, and to order your own signed copies of any of my books. Email me at: MidlifeCrisisQueen@gmail.com
“Paradise is where I want to wake up every morning… where I can be the way I want to be.” — Huerfano: A Memoir of Life in the Counterculture
When we were certain we would not be able to work full-time again, Mike and I began considering our options back in 2013. Where would we find our own inexpensive paradise?
After a quick trip down to Cuenca Ecuador in September, we decided to take a closer look at southern Colorado. Mike had an idea that the Huerfano west of Walsenburg might be a good place to begin our search, so we came down here and camped at Lathrop State Park. As luck would have it, we drove right into our first Octoberfest that fall!
Between the fantastic mountains views, the friendly people, the mild climate, the dark skies at night, and the completely reasonable land prices, we decided to research Navajo Ranch further, and the more we learned, the more we liked this area. It had its own water district, electric and phone service already present, and lots priced between $10,000 and 15,000. We returned in December to look at specific lots.
We found it difficult to distinguish one lot from another and hard to tell which lots were for sale. But as luck would have it, the only one we got out to look at more closely was the one we ended up buying in January 2015!
Then all we had to do was go back to Fort Collins, sell our home, and say goodbye to our life of 20+ years up there, a task that turned out to be far more difficult than expected.
We experienced the most intense thunder storm yesterday in the foothills west of Walsenburg in southern Colorado. A half inch of rain in an hour and the lightening was amazing! We have lots of great progress up at our custom home. Who knew drywall could take a few weeks?
We found an excellent local man, Ron Pino, to do our drywall. He started out working with his Dad when he was only six! He works alone and is doing an incredible job for a very reasonable price. He’ll start texturing the walls today and then we can begin painting the interior.
Not the most exciting part, but it all has to get done!
We have been collecting all the parts we will need to complete the interior of the house. You try to sit down and think of EVERYTHING you need to finish a house inside. It’s tough! Luckily Mike is extremely detail oriented… thank goodness!
In the meantime we met a woman who is one of the original members of the Libre Commune north of here. Libre was established in the early 1970s as an artist community, with lots of unusual dome homes. There are still some members in the area. If you have any interest in this topic, check out the book Huerfano: A Memoir of Life in the Counterculture.
We are invited to go visit some of the original homes up there! How cool is that?
Yes, we are keeping busy meeting new people everyday, and enjoying a different view of life on the long and winding road into rural America…
Ever since Mike and I “discovered” this rural section of southern Colorado in 2013, we’ve been wondering why others aren’t moving here. Come to find out, they are! The realtors in the La Veta area and here in Walsenburg are having record months lately. And why not? The beauty of this place in spring is astounding!
Also, as the county has begun to allow more marijuana grow operations, business has certainly picked up. In fact, we should have quite a few more jobs here in the next few years, and they should pay well.
At present this county is such a mix of welfare cases and hard-working families, rundown and well-kept homes. But the homes west of Walsenburg have fantastic mountain views, and with land and home prices so reasonable at present, I cannot imagine that it won’t grow quickly.
Since moving to Huerfano County in southern Colorado last June, I have heard various references to the Libre Community, established here in the late 1960s as an alternative to traditional American life. Some call it a hippie commune, but Libre is a community of families or individuals who have been invited to build their own homes. These structures as well as the land they are built can never be sold. Which is why Libre has endured since 1968 while the communes of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado are long gone. New members were required to build their own homes and then homes were traded between members as needed.
We enjoyed her hospitality, wonderful stories and a cup of tea on her back patio while looking at tremendous views of the distant mountains. She referred to her bird feeder as her television as they have no TV or Internet up there, and the phone gets hit by lightening sometimes! Sibylla is an artist like many who came to Libre.
After a few hours of fascinating conversation, Sibylla took us next door to meet her partner Dean Fleming, a founding member of the Libre Community. Dean lives in a larger dome house which he uses as his art studio. The views of the Wet Mountains were amazing from here.
We’re newcomers to rural southern Colorado, so after a few years I decided to compile a diary about my life after moving here from Fort Collins. We chose the foothills west of Walsenburg to build a passive solar home. Please share this blog with your friends if they are considering similar life changes. Contact me directly to discuss any of these challenges, and to order your own signed copies of any of my books. Email me at: MidlifeCrisisQueen@gmail.com
Adventures of the NEW??? Old Farts 